Channing Tatum and “Magic Mike” put Tampa Bay – and male stripping – in the world’s spotlight back in 2012. For the movie’s 10th anniversary, Tatum last year announced that a script and director are in place for a third “Magic Mike” movie, following the 2015 sequel that saw the “Kings of Tampa” take their well-oiled act out of state to Myrtle Beach. A trailer for Magic Mike’s Last Dance was released in November.
But as is so often the case, the real magic still lies with the original movie, which also starred Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, and Matthew McConaughey as a group of male strippers who lives get intertwined with their clients and the law-bending lifestyle.
Tatum (“Step Up,” “Coach Carter,” “Hail Caesar!”) is a graduate of Tampa Catholic High School. Much of the first movie was filmed around the Tampa Bay Area including Caddy’s on the Beach in Treasure Island, the Pinellas Bayway, the now-closed Amphitheatre in Ybor City and the former Wilson’s Sports Lounge in St. Petersburg.
If you’re a huge fan of “Magic Mike” – or just love reading about movies set in Florida – here are five things you might not know about the flick.
IT’S BASED ON A TRUE STORY … SORTA: Let’s be clear – “Magic Mike” is “inspired” by Tatum’s real experience as a teenage exotic dancer in Tampa. Tatum has repeatedly said the film is based on the “world” he was a part of, but there is “not one character that I took from my real life,” according to Thecinemaholic.com.
TOO CLOSE TO THE TRUTH: While Tatum says “Magic Mike” isn’t based on his life, at least three other men have come forward to say it’s based on their lives. All three claimed to have worked with Tatum during his stripping days and say the movie is based on their real-life stories. Tatum has told reporters it’s simply not true. “I don’t want to say anything bad about them because they are part of the reason I think their world is so interesting,” Tatum told the Guardian newspaper in the UK. “They are very interesting, intriguing, bizarre characters, and I’m thankful for weird people out there, I guess.”
A MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Actor Anthony Mackie (“The Hurt Locker,” “We Are Marshall,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) has said he really wanted his friend Tatum to cast him in the film but it didn’t happen.
A REAL SPORT: Steven Soderbergh pitched Matthew McConaughey his role in a telephone call. McConaughey reportedly laughed but accepted the role within 10 minutes. Soderbergh allegedly gave McConaughey the role because the actor believed in astrology – as did the director’s mom.
LET’S NOT GET HAIRY: McConaughey had his body waxed – yes, his entire body – to prepare for the role. Ouch.
As for that third “Magic Mike” movie, it’s tentatively titled “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” and was written by Reid Carolin, who wrote the first two movies. Soderbergh reportedly is set to direct. Tatum has hinted that the movie will be released on the HBO Max streaming service, but a date has not yet been set.
More movies and TV shows set in Florida:
5 Things You Didn’t Know about “Summer Rental”
5 Things You Didn’t Know about “Cocoon”
